Footage Captures Hot Air Balloon’s Emergency Landing in Temecula Backyard with 13 Aboard

In an unexpected turn of events in Temecula, California, a hot air balloon with 13 passengers made an unplanned landing in a residential backyard, leaving local homeowners astonished. The incident, captured on video, has now become a topic of conversation as the homeowners share their remarkable story with KABC, an ABC affiliate.

Saturday morning took a surprising twist for one Temecula household as the hot air balloon descended upon their property. It was an unconventional landing no one saw coming.

The unexpected arrival unfolded around 8:30 a.m. while the homeowner, Hunter Perrin, was unwinding in front of the television. A sudden knock from a neighbor prompted him to the door.

“I opened the door, and the neighbor exclaimed, ‘They just landed in your backyard!'” Perrin recounted, still in disbelief. “I was completely taken aback!”

Curiosity piqued, Perrin and his wife, Jenna, who had been in another part of the house, hurried outside to witness the unusual scene firsthand.

“I open the sliding glass door, and there’s a basket full of thirteen people in my backyard!” Perrin said. “The pilot, he was masterful. He got it right down inside, like directly into the backyard, where there was nothing. The balloon didn’t catch on anything. No one was injured.”

The homeowners say the hot air balloon pilot told them the wind died, forcing him to make an emergency landing.

“You can kind of see in the video of how they came in. He kind of plopped straight down and was moving very slowly,” Perrin said.

“And I run to the backyard, and there’s a whole group of people that are just waving at me,” Jenna said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh my God. So the sound I heard was the flames?!’ And I’m like… hi!’”

Incredibly, there was no damage in the backyard and no one was injured.

KABC spoke to one of the passengers about the moments that led up to the emergency landing.

“At first I was like, ‘Oh my God! We’re in a backyard! This is crazy!’” said hot air balloon passenger Brianna Avalos.

Avalos and her husband were taking their first hot air balloon ride to celebrate their 10th anniversary. As they started approaching the neighborhood, Avalos says the pilot made an announcement.

“He said there’s not enough wind, because the wind kind of like, stopped a little bit. And he was like, ‘We’re going to land.’ And we only had a little bit of fuel left,” Avalos said.

Neighbors gathered in the street to watch.

“He was trying to get us to the street, but we couldn’t get to the street in time, so we landed in the people’s backyard safe and sound, like no one’s hurt, everyone’s great. He was an amazing pilot!” Avalos said.